Athletic competition continues to evolve where athletes are faster and stronger, and thus athletes face greater risk of injury due to their own strength, the strength of their competition, and the ability to throw a ball with greater force than ever before. This evolution is present for both men and women, yet the protection provided to female athletes is not commensurate in protection to those afforded to male counterparts.
Women's athletics continue to evolve at a rapid pace from mostly non-contact sports to sports that show few, if any, differences from the male version of the game. This is especially evident in several field sports, including lacrosse and field hockey, where today, women's lacrosse and women's field hockey continue to evolve to include additional physical contact, whether explicitly allowed by the rules, or simply by virtue of evolution of the game and the speed and skill of those playing.
However, both women's lacrosse and women's field hockey have typically eschewed the use of face protection or helmets because of the fact that the sports, by rule, do not allow physical contact on the field. However, the current state of the game reveals that today, athletes, coaches, and parents of young athletes understand that physical contact is inevitable and that young athletes, in particular, are highly susceptible to head injuries while playing in organized sports. Specifically, there is an increased awareness of the danger and frequency of concussion in organized sport. Furthermore, modern research and studies have identified that repeated concussions may have a significant and long term effect on athletes, including the development of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, which is a degenerative disease highly correlated to those individuals who have suffered from repeated head injuries.
While women's lacrosse and field hockey have been slow to adapt the use of helmets on the field, there appears to be momentum towards adopting rules and regulations regarding the use of helmets in competition. Therefore, the use of helmets seems like a natural, if not inevitable, component of the uniform for participation.
The initial proposals for women's helmets specify the use of a soft shelled and flexible helmet and eschews the use of the hard-shelled helmets used in sports such as American Football, or in men's lacrosse. The argument is that women's lacrosse remains a non-contact sport and checking or hitting of another player remains prohibited by rule. Therefore, without the need to use the heavy, bulky and rigid helmets from men's sports, the proposed helmets will be less bulky and prevent loss of the dexterity and speed. However, the governing bodies remain interested in providing a helmet that will provide protection in the form of a soft/flexible helmet and which provides for substantial protection to the eyes, face, and head of athletes.
Accordingly, because of incidental physical contact and also direct contact with a stick or ball, there is a need for sport specific head protection, eye protection, and protection of the face of female athletes. Therefore, there is a real and present need to improve safety for athletes in these sports, specifically by providing for sport appropriate head gear.